Pain, Perseverance, Character, Hope

Thanks to guest blogger Gary Seale for this article. 

He who heeds discipline shows the way to life,

but whoever ignors correction leads others astray.

Proverbs 10:17

Pain

No matter what you prefer to call it, we all experience difficulty in life. From the most simple and mundane such as struggling to full alertness in the morning to trauma induced by unexpected tragedy. Yes, terrorists do fly airplanes into buildings and kill innocent people. Strife, hate and murder lead to conflict and war. Frustrated goals and delays lead to internal strife that boils over into external anger.

And it seems no matter how mature we are, or no matter what mechanism we use to cope with pain, it creeps up and grabs us periodically without asking. Make no doubt that a great deal of personal pain is self-induced by our failure to see the world as it actually is. In each and every human lies the capacity for great good and charity as well as self-centered bias and hurtful acts of violence. The pain of unmet expectations and unexpected situations demands that we find a solution or capitulate.

Perseverance

So how do we handle the inevitable adversity that is destined to crop up on our road of life?

Turning to God with your problems is the essential element in Godly dependence. The first step is prayer coupled with perseverance. And the first step in perseverance is understanding that pain and adversity rarely last for a long period of time. There is light at the end of the tunnel that spells relief. However, the pain that is current must be not only endured, but capitalized upon to produce strength for the future. Just as a weight-lifter must press himself beyond the level of his current capacity, you must walk through the adversity rather than around it to gain the benefits. This means addressing every issue with diligence and attention to detail, understanding that repetition builds expertise.

To have the strength to push on through the current adversity requires that you have a vision of the future. The future holds more promise, challenge and reward as a result of your existing pain. This vision of rewards is one of the key aspects of perseverance that must be grasped by the individual. Without a prospect for the future, we all eventually wither on the vine and no longer put forth the effort necessary to weather the current storm. For the believer, the ultimate hope for the future lies in the confident expectation of a grace filled eternity with God. In the rare circumstance that earthy pain will not pass with time, allow those circumstances to drive you to a deeper dependence on God.

Character

As part of the reward for persevering through the pain caused by adversity we gain character. The character that is gained has several different elements. One of these elements is wisdom. In this particular context, wisdom should be defined as the knowledge to make Godly decisions today that will produce excellent results over the long term.

The other aspect of character is the knowledge that you have not simply survived trials in the past, but you’ve successfully persevered through those difficult times. This knowledge will serve to bolster your confidence when it begins to wane in the heat of battle. Character also means that you do not compromise your principles to achieve relief during a difficult time.

Hope

And finally we reach a state of character produced by pain and perseverance that allows us to have a genuine hope for the future. This definition of hope is not one of wishful thinking, but one of confident expectation that our perseverance and character will pay off in a peace during times of adversity and deep joy in times of prosperity. This level of hope provides the energy to tackle the difficult issues and find creative ways to solve problems.

Finally, the hope that comes through perseverance and character comes. Realizing that some daily set backs are inevitable and do not spell disaster is a big part of hope. It is also important to come to an awareness that there are few earthly guarantees, only opportunities. Hard work and focus are critical to an ongoing successful undertaking.

Gary D. Seale

Commercial Agent
512-529-7045
trucon@sbcglobal.net
Howe Insurance Group
Austin, TX

Thanks Gary for an excellent article. Gary is a commercial insurance agent, public speaker and author of Business Principles from Proverbs.